Re: Windows-bashing (WAS: Re: Can SVN share files and projects?)

Mark wrote:
> I want to simply say this, because it irritates me. I won't respond to any
> future messages if this becomes a thread.

There is an image problem which this throws up. There is a *perception* especially on the TSVN
mailing list that the main Subversion project doesn't care enough about the Windows platform. I
don't agree with that and have said so on that list.

I know that getting Subversion to run and behave as well on Windows as it does on other systems
isn't easy but it has to be seen to be done or Subversion will get a bad name it doesn't deserve in
a large user base. There is also limited development resource and a lot more non Windows specific
work to do.

There are two types of issues which come up:

   1. Features Windows specific version control system X has is missing
   2. Windows specific bugs and performance problems

Number 1 will get dealt with over time.

Number 2 is more of an issue, with a massive performance regression on Windows in 1.1 rc2 it is
real. Windows users simply won't upgrade to 1.1 if this isn't solved. I have been following the
thread and I understand that it is difficult, but it has to be solved or the *perception* that
Windows is a second class citizen in the Subversion world will be strengthened.

Another general area which falls in area 2 is case sensitivity of file names. Windows users would
be very grateful if the remaining *client side* issues were taken seriously and addressed soon. The
server is fine - a pre-commit hook can prevent case insensitive file name clashes. It's things like
how to change the case of a file name on the client side which currently is cumbersome and which
should be made to work, also if the case of a file name no longer matches the case as it was at
checkout Subversion should just work. It is details like this which make people who have only ever
used Windows think that Subversion is bad when actually it is very good but still has some issues
with file name case insensitivity. See Issue 667 (April 2002), Issue 1495 (Aug 2003).

-- 
Martin Tomes
echo 'martin at tomes x org x uk'\
  | sed -e 's/ x /\./g' -e 's/ at /@/'
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